


Like A Family

by Mikamod



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Multi, Sibling Incest, Twincest, V is his own character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:14:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24630652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mikamod/pseuds/Mikamod
Summary: When Vergil falls into hell he left his own twin to raise their children.A collection of moments and vignettes
Relationships: Dante/Vergil (Devil May Cry), Nero/V (Devil May Cry)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74





	1. Gains and Loses

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for choosing this fic and I really hope you enjoy it. A huge thanks to the wonderful people at the Spardacest discord server and an IRL friend of mine.

_This_ was all, okay, mostly Vergil's fault. 

_This_ being; Dante being stared at, or her obviously pregnant belly being stared at to get more specific. The obviously sinful, unmarried, still technically a teenager, pregnant woman in a culture fanatical city. 

This was Vergil's fault. 

She could still see him, soaked from the rain in front of her unnamed store, could smell his scent on the wind calling to her like the sweetest honey drawing her in. Her so dearly missed twin right in front of her, she pulled him to her, in from the downpour outside.

Dante could still feel him against her, hearts beating in perfect time, his hands leaving goosebumps everywhere he touched, setting her blood on fire. No one had ever made her feel like that, like all the missing parts of her were made whole by him. 

Two days and two nights spent in her bedroom, wrapped around each other, she never wanted him to leave, leave her body, her home, _her life_. The first time they laid in her bed could have been called making love, but it devolved into what she could only call mating, the two rutting with each other as often as they could.

Dante felt their souls met, and she knew demons took mates but to feel it happening their lives twisting and tying together, made more together, made whole.

Only to be left with an empty hole again, a cold bed.

Now she was here, in Fortuna with a child growing inside of her. It hadn’t been terrible after her first freak out, and her pregnancy was as human as she hoped for the first, what did they call it at the clinic, trimester. 

Until her demon came out, it had been dormant for a while before now, just on the edge of her mind, maybe being with Vergil pushed it back to the front, or maybe it was the child. She had started to think of her shop as her _den_ , her room as a _nest_. Dante had to think twice before eating a piece of a demon she had killed, it wouldn’t kill her like it would a normal human, didn’t mean she wanted to eat it as anything but a last resort. 

The last time she had gone to the clinic the doctor had been surprised, saying she was far bigger than she should be. Even asking her if she was sure of the probable date of conception, which she was, she hadn’t had anyone in the month between Vergil leaving her to wake to a cold bed in the middle of the night and when she started throwing up. 

So her pregnancy wasn’t fully human and she needed to find out more about the only other human-demon pregnancy, their mother. 

Dante had heard of Fortuna and stayed away from it because a cult worshiping her father didn’t strike her as a place she wanted to be. It was also the only place left she could think that might have some information that she could use to figure out what she might expect. 

Unfortunately, the city didn’t like outsiders and it was strict on who is allowed into its library. 

Dante seriously doubted she was the kind of person they let in, so she needed to figure out a way to sneak in. Which was made harder by the bump she was sporting. 

She was going to tear into that bastard next time she saw him. 

The only thing she could think of was to wait for a staff member to leave for the night, she had to knock them out, to slip in through the door that got opened by the person. She laid the librarian down, gently as she could not wanting to cause more problems for the elderly man. 

Dante sighed, not even knowing where to start looking, probably if there was personal artifacts or um, relics that what churches called shit like that, maybe. She rubbed her belly noticing that a bit of pain started to roll in her, was the baby moving? Fierce little thing.

The pain kept building as she looked through the books, Dante wasn’t sure if anyone even kept her mother’s things, after all, Eva was _just_ the human wife of the oh so great Sparda, why would anyone beside Dante and maybe Vergil even care. It made her heartache, the fact that so many disregarded her mother, strong and steady as the old trees that shaded their home, just as forgotten by the world as the burnt-out house. 

Finding nothing she slipped away again, out into the darkened streets a little more sinister in the pitch-black night. Only the full moon’s light guiding the few humans left straggling, reflected in the snow that had started to fall while she was in the library.

She had been ignoring the ever-increasing pain in her abdomen until it finally forced her to slip down a wall, and it took her longer than she was proud of that the wetness that she felt wasn’t the snow melting from her body heat, her water had broken. 

“Oh, shit. No, no little one, you can’t come now.” She forced herself up and forward, to the edge of the small alley when a contraction sent her back down, fuck those hurt like a bitch. She needed to get a hospital, it was too cold for her baby out here. “It’s too soon!” Fuck she wished she knew more, were she and Vergil also born prematurely? Was this premature for a demon, the doctor had been surprised by the fetal development.

“Fuck.” 

“Ma’am?” A couple looked down at her, the man had dark auburn hair, the woman a medium brown that shone in the moonlight.

“Hospital. I need a hospital.” She tried to get up on her own only for the man to catch her. 

“You won’t make it in time.” The woman’s hands were warm and gentle, a mother’s touch she hadn’t known in ages. “Our house is just around the corner, we can at least bring you out of the cold.”

“My bab- ahh fuck.” 

“Our neighbor is an old midwife, she should be able to help.” 

What other choice did Dante have but to settle on a bed of towels? While a woman who looked old enough to be her great grandmother talked her through delivering her child, children, to her surprise. 

A pair of twins who were now resting on her chest as she rested on the couple’s couch, the couple’s children, a boy, and a girl tried to sneak-a-peek when they should have probably been in bed.

She looked down to her own children, tiny squirmy things. She hadn’t thought through what she was going to do after, but seeing them, holding them. She could never give them up. 

No one would take her family from her, never again would she lose something so precious to her.

“Have you decided on names?” Gaia asked as Adrian shooed their own children off back to bed.

She didn’t even look up, touching her son’s cheek “Vincent,” than her daughter’s “and Nerina.” Might as well keep with the Italian theme her own parents had started, and she really didn’t have any other ideas. 

“Good names, I think. I hope they grow up well.”

Dante wasn’t surprised to feel tears fall from her eyes, all the emotions warring inside her, it felt so big like they could drown her.

“I um,” She moved to get up off the couch, she needed to find a place to actually stay the night. 

“Oh, no. You are gonna stay right there, and sleep till at least tomorrow and we are going to take you to the hospital.” Gaia said with a stern expression that left little room for arguments, Dante had to say she liked this woman.

She left a week later, with a few baby supplies with her and more to be mailed, “Oh Dante, we don’t need them Kyrie is gonna be our last I think,” and the couple’s phone number. “For anything you need.”

{DMC 3}

She would have to dig through the wreckage for the twin’s things, not even a year old and their home had been demolished. Dante had easily dealt with the small fry demons, now she had to comfort her freaked out babies. 

“Shhh, little ones.” She wiped the demon blood off of Vincent’s face, blocking Nerina’s view of her brother, which the baby girl never liked. Neither of them liked to be away from the other for too long, Nerina would pitch a fit massively not to say Vincent was too much better, quieter sure but he still got fidgety and fussy without his sister. She sighed in relief when Nerina didn’t start crying more. “It’s all okay momma’s right here to keep all the monsters away.”

Dante supposed she had no choice but to accept Arkham’s, or well Vergil’s, invitation. She needed a phone, Morrison had grandkids and she felt like he could be trusted to get the twins to Gaia and Adrian on Fortuna until Dante made it back. 

She got to a phone booth and balanced her twins as she made the call, back to her shop to gather what she could find for the twins, the nursery was unsavable but she almost laughed, Vincent’s stuff bird, a blue round and fat thing, and Nerina’s favorite blanket were both unharmed along with a few clothes. They would have to wash them but they were wearable.

“Dante?”

“In here!” She just finished packing their bag, the two were sitting in the old rocking chair which miraculously wasn’t demolished and covered in debris. 

Morrison whistled, “Something did a damn fine job wrecking your shop.”

“You don’t say.”

“Have you heard the earthquakes toward the center of town?” 

She sighed, “No but I can guess what’s happening. I need a favor.” 

Morrison was already in front of the twins, “I’m gonna go ahead, and guess you need these two somewhere safe.”

“There’s a family in Fortuna, the address is in their bag, if you can take them I’ll pay you when I get work after this.”  
“If it’s got you smuggling the kiddos away, I think it’s big enough for no charge.” 

Dante smiled, thankful to the man for the hundredth time in the time they had known each. “Thank you so much.”

He took the bag, and she hugged her twins close to her, “You’re gonna go see your friends. Kyrie and Credo are waiting to play with ya’ll.” 

She didn’t know how much they actually understand, but they smiled for the first time since Arkham had come in so Dante considered that a win.

She kissed each baby on the forehead, “Be good for Gaia, and I’ll see you soon.”

They parted ways outside of the shop, just in time for a huge tower to rise from the ground, she guessed it was time to confront her brother. 

-line-

Once again, this was all Vergil’s fault.

She was pretty fucking done with this damn tower, with Arkham and her idiot brother. It looked like she was going to be cleaning up his mess. After she got him back for stabbing her.

He looked tired, during that three-way fight, frazzled and frayed, her demon, now more awake than ever wanted to smack him around then take him to their den to make sure their mate recovered and set him back on the path that didn’t pull him away.

Of course, Virgil made helping her with Arkham about power, _“Without strength you cannot protect anything.”_

This wasn’t the way to get stronger, leaving their humanity behind, ignoring everything that their mother represented. If he was so willing to throw her away, what would he do about their children? 

“I have to stop you.”

She felt him give way, her sword cutting through him cleanly, felt the phantom of a blade in her heart, would she have to kill him? She knew she had to stop him, but he was her family, all she had aside from their twins.

“No one can have this, Dante.” He was clutching the amulet, “It’s mine.” 

_You’re mine, we were never meant to be apart”_ He’s leaving her again.

“It belongs to a Child of Sparda.” 

No, she won’t let him, her feet carried her unthinking of what he might do, what he wanted to do, stopping just short of Yamato’s tip at her throat. 

“Leave me and go, if you don’t want to be trapped in the Demon World. I am staying, this was our Father’s home.”

Dante reached out if she could just reach a little farther, a little more. Pain bloomed across her hand, Yamato cleanly cutting through skin, and he was too far for her to reach. She could go after him, bring him back somehow, she neede- she needed to go home, she was needed in the human world. 

She could keep it safe, she had her children to raise, to protect. 

Dante looked at the Force Edge, her father's sword, his power, and legacy. She’d bring it back with her and keep it in the shop, high up on the wall so curious little hands didn’t hurt themselves. 

-line-

“Are you crying?”

“No, it’s the rain.”

She could almost feel Lady not buying that, bet she even ‘checked’ for more rain.

“The rain already stopped a while ago.” The brunette pointed out.

“Devil’s don’t cry.” She’d certainly never seen one cry, ignoring the memory of Vergil’s tears hitting her skin once during those two days and nights, and she was sure Lady full of hate for demons would go along with it.

“I see, Maybe somewhere out there even a devil may cry when she loses a loved one.”

Wow, that was pretty touching actually. She had to give it to the younger girl, Lady had a way with words. “Maybe.”

The touching moment was rather predictably interrupted by the remaining demons from the retreated tower. Dante was ready to just walk away but she couldn’t leave the girl stranded, plus Lady was pretty good at kicking demons ass Dante could use a partner. 

“Do you have somewhere to go?” 

Lady pointed to one of the destroyed buildings, well look like they were both homeless. 

“Well, why don’t you stay at my shop till you find a place, We’ll have to rebuild it but I bet between the two of us we can make that money real quick, first stop though is Fortuna gotta pick up my kiddos.”

“How is staying at your wrecked shop better than staying in a motel? Wait, you have kids!?”


	2. Ita ut Semper Mors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As foretoldddd part 2. enjoy~

{DMC1}

“Mom?” She looked over from checking Neri’s bag, Vincent was normally the first twin to sleep, maybe because no matter what she and doctors tried he was always just past sickly something that Dante assumes will always squeeze her heart.

“Yes, V?” She stood up and walked to her son's bed, the boy wrapped around his old bird plush. 

“Is Aunty Lady coming tomorrow?” 

“Nope, that’s next week.” Her twins always looked forward to seeing Lady, it helped that she always brought something for the twins.

“Oh,” Vincent cuddled further into his bird, “Do we still have school tomorrow?”

Dante laughs, that was more a question Nerina would ask. “Sorry but yes you still have school. Which means you need to sleep, little one.”

She kissed his head, got up, and kissed Nerina’s before she went back to the first floor of the shop, picking up the phone the moment it started ringing. 

“We close at nine.” 

She was just getting ready to head to sleep herself when someone drove a _motorcycle_ through her door. Seriously why was the world determined to destroy her home.

“We are clearly closed. If nature calls there is a bathroom you can use but then you gotta leave.” She was a bit rude and biting with her words but really she had just gotten the two in bed and on the way to sleep and surely this woke them up.

The twins were bound to get curious and come investigate. 

“So you’re the handy-man who takes any job no matter how dirty.”

“I take special jobs if you know what I mean.” She took Force Edge off the wall walking between the stairs and this, she didn’t feel human but, woman.

“You lost your family to darkness twenty years ago, the daughter of the legendary Dark Knight Sparda” It rolled some calmly off of the blond's lips, like reading facts from a book. “Dante.”

Shit, this wasn’t a good sign. “If you want to fight then we should take this outside.” 

“I don’t think so.”

Fuck, being electrocuted and once again impaled by her own sword hurt like a bitch. 

“Didn’t your Daddy teach you how to use a sword.”

Oh, this crazy woman was throwing a bike at her, Dante actually liked her spunk if only the fight wasn’t in her damn house. 

“No sword needed.” She used Ebony and Ivory to destroy the bike before it could land on her, too bad the thing exploded, she would love to go more than a few years without having to repair the shop.

“Looks like I’m getting closer.” She stepped forward, listening for two little hearts, she didn’t want them to see her shot what looks like an ordinary woman dead.

“It looks that way, but I’m not your enemy, my name's Trish and I came to seek your help to put an end to the Underworld.”

“Wh-” 

Trish took off those sunglasses and dear god it was like looking at Dante’s past, a perfect match to her mother.

“Mundus is trying to gain more power, so he may truly resurrect himself.”

_"Don’t come out, Dante. I have to go and find Vergil.”_

She didn’t hear the rest, too caught up in her memories, if he returned would she meet Eva’s fate, the twins a twisted repeat of her and Vergil, or the opposite after all she could fight but-

“I suggested you find someone to guard your nestlings.” Trish snapped her fingers in front of Dante. “And fast.”

She called Lady on autopilot, as she waved the twins to stay upstairs, feeling that they were trying to come down. “While I do that do you mind putting the fire that _you_ caused out.” with a point to the fire extinguisher.

“Lady! How would you like to see your honorary niece and nephew.”

“There better be an emergency.” 

Lady may love the twins but she had her own life, even outside of hunting.

“There is, it's big, I’d ask you to come with me but if something goes wrong Nerina and Vicent will need you here.” 

“I can be there in two hours.” 

“Thank you, Lady.” 

Dante pointed to the couch, silently telling Trish to stay put. 

She thought about what to say as she climbed the stairs, she had tried not to take too many long jobs but this was more than a job and she needed to go.

They were both in their beds, looking far too innocent. “I know you were eavesdropping.”

“Sorry mom,” Vincent was the first to sit up, “Is she still there?”

“Did you beat her?” Nerina asked, still wrapped in her blanket. 

“Come on you too,” The twins stood in front of her, even though Nerina kept her blanket wrapped around her. “, I have a job, I’m not sure how long I’ll be, Aunt LAdy is going to stay with you.”

“Just until you get back right.” Her boy was always good at reading the people in his family, knowing when something was upsetting Dante. 

“I-” Does she say the same thing her mother told her all those years ago, “I will do everything to come back home to you two.” A hand on each of their cheeks, they never really talked about how dangerous her job was, their baby-fat faces and so trusting eyes stopped her every time. “If I don’t, Aunt Lady or Uncle Morrison are going to take you to Fortuna.” 

God, she didn’t want them to live there but Gaia and Adrian did and they were the best chance for a stable life if Dante died. She brushed their hair away from their faces, “But that is only if the worst happens, I have no plans to not come home.” 

“Of course!” Nerina shouted. “Mom’s the strongest person in the whole world.” 

“Yeah!” 

Her twins flung themselves into her arms, and she picked them up to spin them around. 

“Okay, you two still have school and need sleep, so back to dreamland,” The twins didn’t go to their separate beds, instead of curling up in Vincent’s. She nearly sighed, she was trying to get them to slowly start sleeping apart knowing from her own memories that waiting would just make it harder on the same token that they would crawl into each other's bed anytime one twin was upset. 

“Be safe, mom.”

“Kick their as-butts.”

She and Lady needed to start watching their mouths before Neri started blurting stuff like that at school. “Always. Love you dears.”

“Love you.” They chorused back.

Trish had thankfully gotten the fire out and was sitting on the couch, “I’ll pack up some supplies while we wait for Lady.”

-line-

“My God, what has he done to you?” 

Her brother's face, even distorted as it was, could be instantly recognized by her. Even if their bond was dormant, like white noise on an old radio. His eyes were _empty_ , missing all personality from them, green-blue spread through his veins.

He paused, if only for a moment before beginning their fight, it was different to their fight four years, her brother’s slick, smooth style so fitted to Yamato, was replaced with something less graceful, but still undoubtedly powerful and well-matched to herself.

Dante couldn’t let him live like this, she didn’t know if it was possible to break Mundus’s control but her dear brother wouldn’t suffer like this anymore.

Her sword found its mark, deep in his chest bringing her in close enough to see some spark in his eye, she pressed a gentle, light kiss to his lips. The good-bye they never got to have, were those his tears she felt or hers. 

He stumbled away from her energy flashing off of him, enough that she had to step back, as it slowly consumed him until he just _vanished_ leaving behind his half of the amulet their mother gave them. 

She picked it up cradling it to her chest. 

Mundus had already taken so much from her, and even if she didn’t like Griffin he deserved a better death. Everything about the bastard showed her just how much he needed to be taken care of.

-line- 

Trish, she could have been a human Dante thinks, she sacrificed herself for Dante. 

Dante picked up the blond devil, “My mother risked her life for me, now you have too.” How history plays in a loop, taking and taking. 

“I should have saved you, I- I should have been the one to fill your dark soul with light.” She said solemnly, cradling Trish in her arms almost the way Eva used to do to her, the way she did to Nerina and Vincent.

A _mother’s_ embrace.

She placed the completed amulet on Trish's chest, along with the Sparda and that was the most fitting burial she could think of.

So Dante left Trish there, bathed in light a tomb that looked pure and serene now that Mudus was no longer in the statue, it was time to make her way home.

She should have expected Mudus to have more up his sleeve or, well, in his stone.

“I’m not going anywhere, besides there is nowhere to go. This is your burial ground too.”

She really did think this might be the end, unable to get that finishing blow, until something hit her, like lighting in her veins, Trish.

“Jackpot!”

“Goodbye!” She smirked as the demon ranted, She didn’t expect Trish to run into her arms, nor the tears the woman cried.

“Dante, I”

Dante wiped them away, “Devil’s never cry. These tears, only humans have these.”

“We’re too late.”

“It’s never too la-”

They both turned as a large piece of the ceiling fell, and well one of them must have some blessing of luck as an airplane fell with it and it was intact enough to fly.

At least to the nearest land, from there the two managed to hitchhike their way back to Capulet City, it was more eventful than she hoped, but considering one guy tried to get Trish to blow him in exchange for a ride and he left alive really means it could have gone worse.

“I don’t sense your nestlings,” Trish observed as they walked up to the shop.

“Okay, lesson 23, a better term is kids or children.” Dante teased, “And they’re probably still at school, depending on the exact time.” 

“They could be in danger. Why send them away from your de- home?” Trish asked curiously.

Dante set her weapons in their cases, making sure that they were secure. “They need to learn and I never finished school so unlike my mom I can’t homeschool them, they need to interact with other kids and I can take more simple jobs when they are at school.”

Trish looked around the shop, now really taking it all in. While Dante got a look at a clock, “Speaking of.”

The doors burst open “Guys not so fast!” Lady tried to reign in the twins.

“Mom!” Both shouted and she scooped them up in her arms’

“Look at my joys.”

She felt the two freezes turning to their eye-line to see what caught their eyes, what was making them nervous. 

Time for actual introductions, she got the two to turn around so they can all look at Trish. 

“Vincent, Nerina, you remember Trish?” The two nod, Neri looking like she wanted to get between the blond and her family. “She’s gonna work with me now, she’s a friend.”

“She looks like Grandmother.” Vincent pipped up, “Is she related to us?”

“I’m not,” Trish answered, still not coming closer, maybe it was a demon thing, not wanting to come too close to another devil's children.

“So why don’t we let Trish get settled and you two tell me about your day.” She missed Nerina do _something_ that caused Trish to huff in offense and Lady to crack up.

Knowing her daughter she probably flipped her the bird or tried at least. 

{8 years old}

“Happy Birthday!”

Confetti rained over V and Neri as their family shouted, Dante, laid a cake in front of them, eight candles burning brightly. 

The two took a deep breath at the same time and blew all the candles out in one go. Lady ruffling their hair in congratulations

Dante for a moment wished that they had more friends their own age, the closest was Kyrie but they rarely got to meet in person. Dante cut out slices, one for each child, giving Vincent a look when he tried for another, Lady and Morrison, two for Trish and herself. 

When she and Lady finished the two went to the storage closet, there weren’t a lot of gifts but Dante was sure the twins wouldn’t mind. It did make her pause, it did every year, making her wonder if they would have been better off with another family.

Their happy laughter from the other room cut that thought off.

“Okay, gift time!” 

Everyone pulled their gifts from the pile and handed them to the twins. 

Morrison gave them tickets to a limited exhibit of birds of prey at the zoo, Trish got them both a stuffed toy, a black cat for V and a small shark for Neri, Lady got them each a book, Vincent it looked like the first Narnia book and Nerina got The Magic Treehouse’s starting book.

Kyrie had taken up knitting with Gaia and made the twins matching purple scarfs, a dark royal purple that looked so striking with their hair. Along with a letter that Dante would remind them to put in the box they kept Kyrie’s letters in.

“Mom?”

She smiled hugging them both. “I have something special for you two later, go have fun.”

Dante watched her family enjoy themselves, Lady and Trish had promised to take a small fry type job for her tonight. The party ended as the sunset the stars just peeking out in the sky, it might be a weekend but that didn’t mean they needed to wreck the kids' schedules too much.

The twins made sure to thank each person for coming, she felt like she was doing something right with how polite they were, well Neri had her moments and now that she thought about it Vincent had his moments but he was more subtle about it. As subtle as an eight-year-old can be.

“Nerina, Vincent ready for your gift?” 

She knelt down between the two, she looked into her children’s eyes and wondered if this is what her mother felt when she gave her and Vergil the amulet halves. She had finally found someone who could do something similar, it wasn’t quite the same, the amulet was recombined and unable to be broken back into the two pieces. But she took the basic design of the amulet and had a witch put a protection spell on each necklace.

“Close your eyes.” 

They did so and she slipped a necklace each, unbreakable leather cords with the metal and jewel made into a new form, a halo over twin stones, over their necks. “Open them up.”

They each picked up the new pieces of jewelry, she remembered at their age she could just feel the power from the amulet and she wondered if they could feel the spell resting in the stones. 

“Tomorrow I’m going to start training you,”

Nerina cheered ecstatically while Vincent was more subdued, he still was sick more often than not but he still showed the desire to learn how to properly fight. 

“, in _self defence_.” She specified, maybe when they are older, old enough to choose if they wanted to follow her in the business, she would teach them more but for now, they would know how to protect themselves and each other. 

She allowed herself to be tipped over when the twins tackled her in a hug.

“Love you!” 

“Love you, mom.”

She held them close, “I love you more.”

They stayed up another hour before she got them into bed, promises of training and warnings of early mornings finally allowed her to get back downstairs and clean up. Finally sitting down at her desk she picked up her mom’s picture.

“You would love them.” She whispered to the picture, she had been able to push down her pain, the fact that her and Vergil’s twins were now the same age they had been when Eva died, she could almost picture Nerina and Vincent bracketing Eva as she read out loud, or helping her bake at the kitchen counter “I wish you were here mother.”

She saw rather than felt her tear hit the glass, “I wish everyone was here.” 

Dante had heard their father talk about how Vergil and Dante were lucky demon-wise, twins, born with their perfect mate by their side. He would have loved them, she bet spoiled them rotten like he had with them, freed of the need to actually discipline since grandparents didn’t need to. 

She picked up the old glove that sat with the photo, slice as perfect as the day _he_ fell, Dante felt like she made the right choice back then, she had no idea what Vergil would have done about or to Vincent and Nerina in his quest for power. 

That didn’t mean she didn’t miss him, didn’t ache for him when she was alone in her bed when Vincent showed interest in poetry and classical music when Nerina dug her little feet about an issue, the sharp fire and determination in her eye’s so like Vergil’s the first time it stopped Dante’s breath.

It was a wound that never healed, it had stopped bleeding maybe but still hurt.


	3. Growing pains

{10 years old}

Dante really hoped Nerina wasn’t going to be thrown out of school, that would be the second one and she was running out of options.

She walked into the principal's office but was surprised that the child waiting was Vincent, not Nerina.

“What happened?”

“Your son attacked mine is what happened!” A rather stuffy looking man, accompanied by a woman whose face honestly reminded her of a harpy, screech. “For no reason! I knew your hellions were dangerous!”

“I wasn’t asking you,” Dante pointed out, “Since you clearly can’t get a hold of yourself.”

The principle, a grey, stern but kindly old man gestured to the two kids. “Mr. Nether claims that your son attacked him and a fight broke out.” The kid, older and larger than Vincent had a few minor scrapes, nothing that won't heal in a few days, meanwhile Vincent had an actual gash on his cheek and bruises up his arm and while he did have a healing factor it was less than her own and she suspected those injuries would be there longer than the other child's.

“Vincent?” She turned to her son wanting to hear his side of the story. 

“Our son wouldn’t lie!” The other woman snapped. 

“Now Mrs. Nether we need to hear both children’s sides.”

“He was making fun of me and Nerina, “

“Your brat responded to simple words with violence.” The stuffy suit said with a hint of finality.

“I will ask you to leave if you keep interrupting.” The principal advised the Nether parents. 

“Nerina told him to leave us alone when he called our mom, a not nice name, and he pushed her down he was gonna hit her again and I tackled him.” Vincent looks down at his hands, clasped in his lap. 

“It sounds like _your_ son started the fight.” Dante bit out, she could guess what the ‘not nice name’ she had been called was and she’d heard it all before that didn’t mean her kids needed to. 

“Mr. Sparda has an outstanding record while this isn’t the first time Mr.Nether has been in my office for fighting.” The principal sighed, “but fighting isn’t allowed so Mr.Sparda will have three days of In-School Suspension while Mr.Nether will have two weeks of Out of School Suspension.”  
“Exc-” The Nethers both yell but Dante is already getting Vincent out of the office.

They were down the hallway when Vincent stopped. “I’m sorry mom.”

She knelt, “For what?”

“I- I know that you told us to try not to get into fights but, he was gonna hurt Neri and I couldn’t let him do that.” 

“You know my brother,” Vincent snapped to look at her, they knew vaguely that she had a brother but it wasn’t something they talked about. “Broke a kids nose cause the boy kept pulling my hair, pushing me around and I was trying to be a big tough girl and not tell anyone. He saw him and punched him square in the nose.”

“You didn’t do it yourself?” 

“I kicked him when he went to hit my brother.” She brushed V’s hair back, the dirt standing out against the pure white. “Sometimes to protect each other you have to fight, but it should be a last resort okay.”

He nodded, and she knew her daughter well enough to tell something was missing. “What was Neri doing?”

“She hit him with a stick to get him off of me, after that she ran to get a teacher when he tried to get back up.” 

That sounded right. “Well let's get you home, you can hop in the shower and I can look at that cut.”

{15 years old}

Dante couldn’t ignore it anymore. Vincent and Nerina were at that point and Neri was getting territorial over her brother, it didn’t surprise Dante. They were twins with demon blood, which would inevitably draw them to each other.

She didn’t know for sure what she was looking for, well short of walking in on them all over each other. Maybe since they were raised together it would curb that desire. Another thing to consider is that while Neri has tried to go on dates and Dante had caught her with one of Dante’s skin mags Vincent hasn’t shown interest in anyone, real or in print from what Dante could tell.

So she was both surprised and not when she opened Vincent’s door, they had gotten separate rooms when they hit middle school, to find the two snuggled up with each other which okay normal except that they were next to naked. 

“Okay, I think it's time to have the Talk get dressed.” 

Out just as quickly as she had opened the door, she waited at her desk in the main office for the two to come down, both had thrown whatever they could get their hands on which did show that while Vincent was getting much broader he was a little taller than Neri now. 

“We weren’t having sex.” Nerina blurted out before Dante could open her mouth, which at least she was forward about it. 

“Okay one thing at a time, how much did your health class cover?” 

Vincent fidgeted and was a bit red, “Condoms, birth control, health stuff, and consent stuff.”

Which thankfully gave her only the demon side to talk about. “Okay things are a little different for you two, Vincent you actually should be fine on the condom front,” Her son showed no demonic powers other than healing major wounds and a being freakishly good with magic, “Nerina, unfortunately, mankind has created a birth control that is effective for us, even the implant ones our healing fucks with them.”

They were both red as Dante’s coats, but she truly wished that someone had been able to tell her that. She had tried nearly everything she could get but nope nothing, it took a witch and some magic but it's permanent. 

“As for what I walked in on earlier.”

“Not sex!” 

Dante had to take a deep breath, ready to tell them what she and Vergil had overheard their father tell their mother.

“As half-demons what you feel for each other is natural. Demon twins tend to be drawn to each other as mates, perfectly matched to each other. It is possible to ignore that draw if you choose, it will be hard but I can find a way.” She barely breathed as she spilled her words, and she meant the last part she would do anything to make sure they were happy in the long run.

“I love Neri, more than I should but I don’t want to do _that_ with her, or um,” Vincent looked at his hands but Nerina grabbed one, “anyone to tell you the truth.”

“That’s okay too Vincent” She assured him, she wasn’t going to judge him for anything like that, well maybe if he wanted to screw anything not at least half-human.

“Nerina?”

“I, I can’t imagine being without Vincent. I know that people are gonna think we’re freaks but they kinda already do and it's not like we’re having sex so no babies.”

Maybe when they were older Dante would tell them who their father was but not now, maybe not ever he was dead why bring up the past. “Okay, the offer to figure out how to help with the pull will always stand.”

“Thank you, mom.” Vincent looked so relieved while Nerina fled her whole face flame red.

“You’re a twin,” Vincent said after a moment of silence. 

“I was.” 

He looked everywhere but at her, “So did you and -” 

She hadn’t told them very much about Vergil, really nothing at all beyond when she talked with Vincent five years ago. Aside from how he fits into the story of Eva’s death which she told a very abridged version of to them. 

“We were too young to know for sure but we were nosy and listened to our parents talk about it.”

He didn’t look convinced but let it go, heading back upstairs. “Thank you, we- we didn’t know what to do about it all, we tried to just ignore it but it was almost out of our control the way you found us.”

Dante sighed standing up and pulling V into her arms resting her head on his. “It’s gonna be okay V. “


	4. We shall Never Surrender

{Dmc4}

Nerina had some explaining to do, Dante thought as she watched her daughter easily dispatch a handful of Scarecrows, she could sense far more demonic power radiating from Neri, mostly the arm she was keeping in a sling.

The crest of the Order adorn the jacket Nerina was wearing, had Sanctus the sly old bastard figured out that Nerina could be used for whatever it was he was planning. Hopefully, her daughter's budding dislike for anyone with authority would keep her out of the church. 

Dante hadn’t been back to Fortuna in person since Gaia and Adrian died, she had offered Cerdo and Kyrie a room at her place but Credo was set to join up with the Order and claimed that this was their home so this was where they needed to be. 

Dante couldn’t begrudge them that, Kyrie and Nerina still sent letters back and forth, the siblings slowly started to heal if their letters were any indication.

She hoped neither of them would witness what was about to happen, might as well be dramatic about it, she shrugged as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, letting all her weight fall on the stained glass of the church forcing it to give way under her feet.

Wasting no time on small talk with the old man she simply shot him, more than ready to take on the not human but also not properly demons that rushed at her. 

She wasn’t ready for a certain child to drop kick her across the room, or shoot at her, the two ended up on the statue of Dante’s father, guns trained on each other.

“What the hell Mom!” 

Credo was pulling Kyrie out of the room, and the two looked as shocked as Nerina did. This wasn’t going to plan but when did anything in her life got to plan?

Her daughter had definitely improved and was adept at using both of her weapons, though why the blade had an _engine_ on it was beyond Dante. 

That’s what Nerina was hiding, the arm reminded her of Vergil’s trigger state though the red was different, she did wonder why no one bothered to let her know what had happened, and why she didn’t sense such a large change. “You definitely have some explaining to do dear.” 

“I’m not the one who just shot an innocent man!”

That arm was doing wonders to help Neri in this fight, that had to be the biggest sword Dante had ever had thrown at her. This was Neri's first real-ish combat experience and she was doing wonderfully, working to contain rather than kill. 

Of course, it would be a fight with a member of her family if Rebellion _didn’t_ end up in her chest, Vergil would be proud of their girl. At least Nerina knew she would heal, so she quickly ripped the sword out. 

“You murder all those”

“People? They aren’t, look at them.” 

While Nerina examined the bodies, seeing their demon-like faces for the first time, Dante decided that it was a good time to leave. 

This would be a good mission for Neri to cut her teeth on, Dante could do most of the big stuff with Trish’s help. 

“Make me proud sweetheart, and you’re grounded when we get home!”

-line-

_”Find your mother, Nero. I feel like anyone else might-”_

Simple, find her mom and bring her in, of course, nothing in the lives of the Sparda family. 

Honestly who the fuck designed that castle?! If it was Sparda then she might have to have a word with him if the place killed her. She nearly killed her first, how would her mom put it? Probably something like ‘Big Girl Demons’ if both hadn’t run away like cowards. 

Not to mention that her arm was absorbing things which she could freak out about later.

Now there was this lab, she had to guess it was pretty empty on this level, of things the whole building was surprisingly sparse on actual people. She felt a buzz up her arm, as it started glowing, the closer she got to what looked like a control room the stronger it all got. 

Like it wanted her to go that way. 

She noticed the man crossing in front of the glass, “You’ve come just like I expected.”

“Who the hell are you” 

“Agnus, my work is p-p-privilaged not many know I exist.” 

This was shaping up to be a bad time for her. “Weird to see an Order member walking around a hellhole like this.”

“Hellhole! Watch your tongue, just as foulmouth as I’ve heard. It seems like the rumors are true as will the ones about you d-d-d-demis will be.”

Whelp, time to throw that back at him, “Really you're gonna kill me just from the way I t-t-t-talk?”

If the horde of demons he let into the room was any indication he didn’t like that too much. 

“This was all Credo’s fault! Credo sent you after Dante, sent you here!”

“I didn’t even know _here_ existed. What the hell is going on?!”

The demons were a middle ground of difficulty to deal with but to make them stop she needed to stop Agnus. 

So she threw one at the window and jumped up.

This was when she figured out that Agnus was a bit of a creep. 

“How p-profound!” He reached for her tainted arm which she snatched away. “How magnificent!” 

“Did you even hear my question, tell me what's going on!” She ordered him, sword at his neck, she was surprised when he grabbed it and she couldn’t pull it from him.

“You want answers, then I’ll give them to you.”

Those answers were not what she expected, no wonder her mom had been on the island. This nutcase was dealing with something he really shouldn’t be playing around with. Not to mention angels, a load of shit. 

One lance through her chest made her instantly regret pinning her mom with Rebellion. Oh god, fuck it hurt so much. Even when it was replaced with the two lances in her arms, why was this bastard still talking?

“You, you made the gate.” 

“Yes! The Hellgate, it’s merely a substitute for the real thing but it works.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You should rest.” 

Oh, fuck the first thing she was doing was telling her mom she was sorry about the sword in chest shit, god it hurt like she was trying to heal around the damn thing. No, she wasn’t going to be some bastards experimental rat. 

She was gonna die here. 

Without seeing her family again, without being able to protect anyone, she needed to get out of this, to live, so she could help them. She felt the aura of the sword before she felt it in her hand, felt its power being offered and she more than accepted it.  
It was like the sword was guiding her, telling her how to use its power. It took all she had, slipping down as it absorbed into her arm. She gripped the arm, laughter bubbling out of her, Nerina had never asked her mom if she could become more of a demon but this arm gave her strength, and she could use it to protect everyone.

“Okay,” She collected herself, getting up from the floor, “Head to headquarters and try to talk to Credo, he has to have answers. “

-line-

A forest? This high upon the mountain? 

“What the hell,” Her mom oh so casually walked at the ledge. “Must be the Hellgate.”

Her mom stole a glance at her right arm, “Our long due talk is going to have to wait.” The older woman teased before allowing herself to fall off the cliff face. 

“How much do you know?” She questioned, even if Nerina knew she wasn’t going to get an answer.

Damn Agnus, it was his fault all of Fortun was crawling with demons, it did give her an outlet for all the frustration building inside of her, this whole situation a confusing mess she only seemed to have the smallest piece too.

This demon, plant snake thing was just one more problem for her to deal with, quick and freakishly agile it made for a hard fight.

It, she, rushed for the Hellgate, “Not happening.”

“How shameful to be defeated by a human!” She shrieked and thrashed against Neri’s Demon Bringer’s hold. God these things loved to whine about humans kicking their asses. 

“Don’t start a fight you can’t finish.” Wow, it was like hearing her mom talking through Neri’s mouth. She was more than a little pissed off that these demons kept running away before she could get the finishing blow in. 

At least there was something her freaky arm could absorb, _fantastic_.

-line-

Nerina couldn’t say she liked the look in Credo’s eyes, “That’s a look you shoot your enemy.”

He didn’t stop, didn’t lecture her about mouthing off on-duty, just mechanically walked on.  
“Okay, Let me ask you this: What Is the Order after? Why are they hounding after Dante so much?” It felt odd calling her mom by name, not that she got to see the humor in it as Credo attacked her.

“You do not demand answers from me!”

She brought up her right arm to block his sword. “Please Credo back down, I don’t want to hurt you.” He was her friend, after all, one of her only ones aside from Kyrie.

“Hurt me? You couldn’t.” 

He transformed the same feeling as the knights in the hall, as Agnus filled her senses. “Shit, you too?”

“I have been chosen to evolve past a mere-human, I am an angel.”

“Wrong, Credo. All you’ve become is a demon.” 

“As Captain of the Holy Knights, you are under arrest.”

It looked like there was no way for her to avoid this fight, locking blades with her friend, she was able to get the upper hand, blocking his final attack.

“You’ve improved.” 

She offered Credo her hand hoping he’d take it when like a bell shattering the silence, a gasp from the side.

“Kyrie.” 

Nerina knew how this must look, quickly tucking her hand away from sight. “Wait, This isn’t what you think.” 

Every step Neri took forward Kyrie took back, “Why, Why would you do this.”

No, this is, she can’t lose both of them today. 

Her and Credo both tried to convince Agnus to let Kyrie go but she was taken anyway. Nerina pulled Credo up “Where are they going? Headquarters!”

“I would assume, we need to put our fight aside until we save her.”

They split up, Credo to the skies leaving Nerina to battle her way into the headquarters, she wished it would help her unwind like in the forest but here it only served to piss her off more as she cleaved her way through demon after demon, solving traps to make her way farther inside.

She found herself more than willing to kill Agnus if it meant she could save Kyrie, helpless in whatever that chamber was, her friend looked almost peaceful, and she was so damn close when more of those knights attacked her. Allowing Kyrie to be taken, Neri tried to reach her falling just short, the necklace she had gifted to the singer was the only thing Nerina had gotten a hold of.

The screams ripped out of her, cries like a wounded animal that she hardly recognized as coming from her echoed in the room, even if she knew it was a waste of energy and time she found herself hitting the floor again and again with her Devil Bringer. 

She failed! Once again she wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t fast enough. 

-line-

“What took you.”

“Mom I don’t have time for this.”

Oh nope, Dante wasn’t about to let Nerina go try and fight in this shape, she’d do nothing but rush in and get herself killed. 

“Neither do I so let’s cut to the chase.” 

While it wasn’t as easy as in the cathedral and Neri put up a good fight, “I need the sword you found.”

“Get to the point!”

A partial Devil Trigger? Probably unlocked by the Yamoto, it did feel similar to Vergil’s power but with something wholely Nerina added to it. 

“It was my brothers, and I’d like it back. Then you can go save Kyrie.”

“I need it.” Nerina unleashed what felt like a small version of the Judgment Cut, which was actually impressive. But she was still too heated, too reckless. Mother and daughter clashed, moves match for match, Dante didn’t want to hurt Neri mostly blocking and working her daughter in circles. 

Finally, Neri fell to the ground, and Dante knelt over her.  
“Cooled down now?”

Neri looked away from her, “It felt like every time I and V would ask you to spar like you’re playing with me.”

She wasn’t wrong.

“You know what that sword can do Neri, I can’t have it running around” 

“Mom, I- I have to save Kyrie and I need this to do it.” 

Dante took a breath, “Okay, now that you’re calm go save her. But be careful and keep your head on straight, got it.”

“Got it.”

“Love you!” She shouted at the retreating hunter. 

“Love you too, you dork.” 

She turned to meet a presence she would know anywhere.

“That suits you!” She couldn’t hold her laughter in, she needed to get a picture of that to Lady somehow.

“I always dress to impress.” Like a cloak coming off Trish dropped her disguise, “Are you sure you want to let her run off like that.”

“I think she can handle it, and if not,” She shrugged “that’s why we’re here.”

-line-

She was too late, only managing to stop Credo’s fall, and get Credo to the ground without more damage. 

“I’m here so let the kid go!” Dante interrupted the madman's ramblings. “Nerina, hang in there. Don’t give up.”

“I’m a bit limited on options mom.”

“And I’m the dramatic one, if you die I’m going to kill you and then ground you, so you better stay alive”  
“Then hurry it up.”

Dante didn’t have to look to figure out that Neri was more than likely also flipping her off.

“How did I raise such a punk?”

They could do nothing but watch as the Savior lifted into the air and “Check it out! It’s got wings.” She needed to keep her calm and hiding her rage under her humor helped with that. 

This cult bastard took her child, dared to hurt her nestling, and to add insult to injury had taken the Yamato. This man was going to pay dearly. 

“The design shows terrible taste.” Trish played along, humoring her and it felt nice to trash the damn thing even if only verbally for now.

Moaning behind them let Dante know that Credo was more or less back with them.

“Where is it going? It’s not complete yet right?” She tried to be gentle, looking at the man and remember the boy seventeen years ago peeking around a corner into his living room as a strange woman gave birth there was stuck in her mind.

“Dante, please, save them, Kyrie and Nerina. A last request.” She held Credo as he died, dissipating into nothing more than energy.

She set off to close the smaller Hellgates, it would make everything easier for her and Trish, mostly Trish who was handling the civilians. 

She did have fun with a Shakespearean good time with Agnus, which okay she really should have just outright stabbed him but Dante really couldn’t help herself. Might as well have a _little_ fun before ripping the man apart, she would not be kept away from Yamoto.

“Ho-ho-how can there be such a difference between us?!” 

“You threw away your humanity.” She told him, a simple truth, like the sky on a sunny day was blue.

“But you’re not human!” He accused “Why is there a difference.”

“You assume humans are weak, and their bodies do lack the physical ability of a demon. But humans have something demons don’t”

“Please tell me.” 

Two shots, one for his research, one for him.

She watched him dissipate the same way Credo had, making sure he was actually dead before moving on. Making her way to Yamato, the sword calling to her, it felt too heavy in her hands at first, but it felt like Vergil so she endured, and the sword with almost a life of its own relented and allowed Dante to use it to destroy the main Hellgate. 

It was time to save her child and Kyrie.

The outside of the Saviour could take the damage, it was weakening but it wasn’t enough.

She jammed Yamato into what she assumed was the core of the thing, but it still was going. 

“Not even the Yamato can stop the Savior, now.”

“If the outside won’t give then it looks like the inside will have to do.” She shot at the sword until it pierces through.

“Neri, time to wake up dear. You’ll miss out.” Nothing, “Nerina!”

She could feel Neri was awake. “Do what you need to, I’ll deal with things out here.”

-line-

“Keep the sword Nerina,” She looked surprised at her mom, she knew what Yamato meant to mom. One of the few pieces of their family left in the world.

“Are you sure?”

“You just saved the world, I think you earned it.” Her mom pulled her into a hug which Neri allowed, at least for a little while.

“I’ll stay and help clean up.” 

“Nope. You are still incredibly, no, astonishingly, grounded.” Her mom nodded to the lighting off in the distance, “Lady and Trish are gonna help clean up the demon, and I got Morrison to agree to help set up a basic rebuild plan. So you’re going home and cleaning every single weapon in that shop.”

“I just saved the world!” Neri protested, she could hear Kyrie trying not to giggle in the background.

“You also, on a technical level, join a cult that worships your _grandfather_ , joined a military group without asking me and didn’t call me when that,” Her mom gestured to the Devil Bringer. “ happened.” Her mom walked away “Come on say good-bye and get a move on.”


	5. Here at the Beginning, Here at the End

{Dmc 5}

“Dinner!” Kyrie called from the garage door, Neri shooed Nico into the house with the simple request to actually save her food, Vincent too he should be back later tonight. She worked a little more on the engine when she heard footsteps. 

Looking up to see a cloaked figure at the door of the garage, “Hey, are you okay? Hungry? If so, you're in luck, Kyrie tends to make way too much.”

She reached out to the stranger, noticing the way her Devil Bringer started to hum, and glow. 

“You’re a demon. What do you want?”

“Neri are you-”

Shit, shit. “Kyrie get back inside!”

The demon grabbed her by the arm and flung her across the garage, Nerina tried to get up, found something unbalanced. She looked up and holy fuck, that was her arm watched it turn into the Yamato, she looked back down to see nothing but a bleeding stump where the Devil Bringer was. 

Blue light flooded the garage as a portal was opened and closed, the demon gone with it. 

“Fuck! Fuck,” Her voice trembled as she faintly heard Nico and Kyrie coming into the garage, concern coloring their voices and the rolled her over, trying to stop the bleeding as her conscious slowly slipped away.

-line-

Vincent finally found it, his mother’s old home in Red Grave surprised to see it still standing, worn down, but somehow still standing. The portrait of the Sparda family, his mother in a black dress with a bright red bow, Eva in her signature shawl looking at peace with life, like the world was perfect.

Vincent wondered what the home sounded like, then what did his mom's innocent laughter sound like? He had come looking for more answers but found that just questions came to him, most of the things in the house were fire damaged, and if not they were ruined by the elements that came and went through the house like unwelcome guests. 

The crunch of leaves signaled that someone else was in the house with him, he slipped through the shadow’s trying to see if he could tell who this person was, what they could want here. A robber, anything worth being stolen probably already had been.

Vincent watched as the figure came to a halt, right in front of the family portrait hanging on the wall, the robbed figure seemed to stare at the art before turning away, drawing a well-known sword. 

If this person had the Yamato, was Nerina hurt, or worse. 

He could do nothing but watch in twisted fascination as the figure readied a strike and plunged the sword deep into himself, as the shadows leaped from him, leaked from him. 

With a burst of unknown energy, an unforeseen force pulling him to the cloak as the blade went ever deeper he could feel something wrap around him the shadows swallowing him as a demon was born before him, the cloaked figure twisted and shifted into a hellish shape, and dear lord did Vincent fear that demon. 

More than he’d ever felt in his life, he needed to run, he needed to get up, he needed- it was like a switch like he had crashed headfirst into sleep, only to wake up in a pile of garbage bags, a demonic bird harping at him to make a contract.

He did so, knowing the bird was right his body was weak, weaker than it had even been. The cane was a great help, and he could more acutely feel the demonic energy from it, while not a devil arm the metal itself was from the underworld. 

‘It will work for the purpose.’ 

That voice was not his own and wasn’t the birds either. Vincent had heard that voice when he formed his contract with Griffin, the man that looked so much like his mother, the boy in the painting.  
Vergil.

-line-  
That slimy bastard, he had the balls to not pay her for a month-long job. Fucker skipped town when she went to collect so now she was stuck right back in debt, sure LAdy had let her off easy when the twins still lived in the shop but now she was a damn shark.

“It’s awful dark in here Dante, The birdies fly the nest and you let it go?”

“Morrison! I didn’t expect to see you, you shoulda called first.” Dante could deny that the office had gotten messy after the twins moved out, but it had been so long since she had the place to herself. 

“You’re phone’s out.” Her long time friend stopped beside her desk, arms crossed until he pointed at the ceiling, the lights all coming on. 

“What brought this on?” 

The phone started ringing incessantly, “Devil May Cry.”

“Dante!!!!” Right, Patty’s birthday. “I keep trying to get a hold of you and the twins but no ones picking up! You all have to come to my party! I’m finally turning eighteen.”

Dante would rather have her come into the shop, or the four go to a restaurant if she wanted something fancier than Dante or Vincent could make. “.., Patty.”

She decided that for the moment the best course of action was to unplug the damn thing, she’d deal with making Patty understand later. It wasn’t until she had already ended the call that it hit her.

Vincent and Nerina hadn’t answered and the two never outright ignored Patty, they were close to her. 

“I have good news and bad news.”

“I’m not choosing which one is first.” She tried that game with Morrison a few times and it always ended up as bad news and worse news.

“You have a new client, willing to pay a lot upfront.”

“What's the bad news?”

The door opened and Vincent slipped in leaning against the wall, the tattoos were new, extremely so, as was the cane. He looked weaker but his demonic aura was stronger, incredibly so. What the hell did he get himself into this time?

“If it's as big as V implies than I better get Trish and Lady too.” Morrison swept out of the office as fast as he came in. 

Vincent sighed and plugged the phone back in, looking around the office. “I never knew you were this bad at keeping house mom.”

“I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“A demon lord is rising, a powerful one may be the most dangerous one yet.” 

She sat on the couch, leaning back to look at the sky, “Me and you both know that enough people come to us claiming that when it's not the case, who told you-”

“I saw it, and he’s returning, your reason to fight. Vergil.”

Dante snapped up, blue eye boring into green, “I saw Vincent if you are lying I can’t-” She didn’t know what would happen, what she would do but to bring up her brother. This had better be real.

“I assure you mom, it's true. He’s planning something, something big and we nee-” 

The shrill ring of the phone broke his sentence, it went silent but immediately started again. 

“Devil May Cry,” V answered his voice calm, smooth where she expected panic. “What! Is she alive?! Why didn’t someone call earlier!”

Vincent looked at her, eye filled with anger she had never seen in her son, “Why was the phone off? It’s the only way Neri can contact you and it was off!” He hung up the phone, more like slammed it down.

“Someone ripped off her arm! Stole the Yamato”

Someone did what?! She would tear them apart, rip their limbs away until nothing but a stum existed. 

“I- one of us needs to go. I’ll deal with Vergil, while you go to Fortuna.” She grabbed the Rebellion and started to the door, there was only one other person who would be able to know the Yamato was in Neri’s arm without having seen her absorb it. 

Damn him, damn his need for power, damn her heart for wanting to be reunited with him. 

“Kyrie and Nico are there, she has doctors. You need my help more.” 

Vincent was never the rebellious one, so she knew he thought he was right but not this time. 

“Do you even know where to go, mom?”

She paused her hand on the door. 

“Come on, quicker we finish this the quicker we can make sure Neri is okay.”

-line-

“She- She called me deadweight! Mom, V we can’t leave her!” Neri struggled against her twin's hold, for how weak he seemed it was difficult to do for some reason.

“Nerina! Stop. This isn’t about your pride, if mom can’t stop him then you’ll be our only hope, so for now focus on that, on getting stronger.” 

Nerina wanted to go back in there, keep fighting but Vincent had a point and honestly didn’t give her much of a choice in it all, the two launching themselves from the tree, V using that bird familiar to help him land while she didn’t need to. 

Morrison was waiting at the bottom for them. “What’s going on? Is everyone okay.”

Neri shook her head, as Vincent answered him they watched the tree just waiting for a streak of red and white, the brilliant light of demonic lighting, the roar of the Kalina Ann but nothing, silent until the root of the tree broke through the ground and started impaling people.

“We need to go.”

“We need to help them.” 

They looked at each other, a duel of wills. “Neri we’re too late, we need to retreat.” 

They got back to the van as Nico made a speedy getaway. 

Neri kept looking out the back window, still watching for the signs that would signal that the three strongest people she had ever known did just lose.

That there was still some hope left.

-line-

Vincent had gone ahead of his sister back into Red Grave, she had spent the last months fighting off the demons from the surrounding towns, parasites leaking out from the open wound the Qliphoth created.

That you created, that Urizen will harvest, that swallowed mom. He pushed the thought to the piece of Vergil inside of him.

The spirit in him was weak most of the time, since that first day it only spoke to him, showing him how to adapt what he knew to fighting with the cane. It did seem interested in his relation to Neri and their mom but didn’t ask or seek detail.

In return, Vincent didn’t about the horrid memories that he saw when he had made the contracts, when he slept alone now, Neri pushing herself to become strong enough to save the world. Nico had helped with those robotic arms, a welcome help. 

She stared at the stump less now in the dark night, even if she still pulled away when he reached for her hand. 

He felt the horror Vergil felt, coiled inside of him, seeing through his eyes all of his humanity stored inside of Vincent, a passenger to the destruction he had sown, to all that he had lost trying to gain power. 

That he had forgotten why he even wanted power so desperately in the first place.

They were supposed to meet up at a church in Red Grave, try and face Urizen one more time and he wanted to have faith. But every day Urzen only grew in strength, and they had little time to reunite the pieces of Vergil or his humanity, and Vincent in general would both die.

He made his way across the city, picking off lower level demons that dared cross his path but leaving the strongest alone, better to run and survive than fight something he knew that would win. 

By now he could hear her, just as playful as mom teasing and taunting the demon that she faced, he watched her, Vergil watched her as she fought, force and grace, the Red Queen a most fitting partner for his lovely sister's deadly dance. 

But it was time he cut in and finish the fight. They had places to be.

-line-

He saw it, as the sword called to the two descendants of Sparda in his body. 

The Demon sword Sparda high up, stuck in the ruins of what this used to be so he answered its call, even if he couldn’t lift it enough to swing the damned sword. 

‘I finally have it and your body is too weak to lift it.’

“Our body is too weak you bastard.” 

They needed to leave but when he finally stopped focusing on the Sparda He felt something else, someone. Shadow was already looking over the edge and growling to get his attention, Griffin translating the obvious that the demonic panther had found the source.

He rushed to the edge, and thereon a throne of destruction and ruin was his mom, she looked almost peaceful, hair draped over her shoulder, eyes closed the lines of stress and age soften by slumber. 

‘The Sparda concealed her. You need to wake her!’

Griffin and Shadow helped him down to her, and he took her from the ruble gently laying her down, now he needed to figure out how to wake her up.

‘The sword.’

He wasn’t going to stab her, and he didn’t think he had enough intent to make a fake-out work.

‘Than I will.’ 

The same feeling of sleep took him over, he woke up sitting beside her. 

“A month, no wonder I feel so stiff.” she worked out her shoulders and he could barely hear Griffin pestering her, still coming back to his own body. 

“I told you not to get Nerina involved, she’s injured, missing an arm, which is not a condition to fight in.”

“Well I did and right now she’s working her way right back up there so we need to leave.”

-line-

“Vincent please, you need to rest.” Nerina held him up, he could barely walk on his own yet he was so determined to get to the ‘top’ of the Qlipoth that she knew he wouldn't listen to her.

“I have to tell you the truth, there is no Urizen. Just a man named Vergil, our mom's brother.”

“Mom’s brother?” 

The original owner of the Yamato, a man they knew next to nothing about, a dead man and he was behind all this trouble.

“I- just wanted to be loved and protected,” V muttered beside her, growing ever weaker with each step they took, heavy and painstaking until the tree became a field surrounding a manor. 

Their mom standing victorious as Vincent slipped out of Neri grasp, she held her breath as he walked towards the fallen demon, something on the air.

Something big was about to happen.

As V’s cane struck the heart of the demon a blinding light erupted and where it had been was, Vincent, laying on the ground and a man, standing proud and tall as the illusion around them shattered.

“Vergil.” Her mom looked, she couldn’t place the look on her mother's face she had never seen it before. It didn’t look good, she found herself paralyzed as Vergil and her mom first fought

“Get your brother!”

Her feet obeyed even as she kept her eyes on the twins. Only looking away from them to check on V, finding a pulse quickly relief flooding her.

The hum of Yamato drew her attention to the man, the blade still called to her. “Thank you, Nerina.”

“Damn it!”

“What the hell, if that’s your brother then” She couldn’t pull her thoughts together, “What happened to Vincent?”

“The piece of Vergil he was carrying returned to him, the familiars separated too.” 

Her mom sighed, “Okay, get Vincent out of here. I’ll deal with Vergil myself, it's my fight.”

“No, I’m coming with you.”

“Back off.”

She picked up V and followed the older hunter, “I lost my arm because of him, Vincent could have died, you nearly died.”  
“You two need to get home and let me finish this.”

“Why?! Cause I’m dead weight?”

“He’s your father!” 

She stopped in her track, the air around them seemed to reverberate, grow heavy with that revelation. 

“Our father?” Her voice cracked in her throat the words breaking as they were breathed out.

“I never thought I'd have to tell you, he was dead and gone before you were even a year old. Look he needs an ass-kicking and I can’t let you kill your old man so go home, take Vincent somewhere safe.”

-line-

“Those twins, they’re my children?”

She really can’t wait to get another stab into him, how dense could he fucking be?

“Yeah dumbass, can’t remember through that thick skull.” _Did our time together mean so little to you?_ she wanted to ask, to accuse but now wasn’t the time.

He laughed and her heart soared, her demon wanted, wanted him, to reclaim him as their own, to rip him apart for hurting their nestling. 

“That was a long time ago.”

“You’re telling me I raised two kids.” Two kids she would kill for, that she would do anything to keep as safe as she could and not even Vergil would stop her. “I think it's time-”

“We ended this.”

They both triggered, her form new to her large in a way her last trigger form wasn’t and charged, only for energy to fill the air, a new demon there. 

No, not a new demon. 

“Nerina?”

“What power is this?”

Their daughter detriggered and threw the two away from each other, the spectral wings, a brilliant blue still on her shoulders. 

“This is-” The wing felt as solid as a real fist when it knocked her back. 

“I’m putting a stop to this, no one needs to die, there are other ways of solving things.”

She was aware of Vergil taunting Neri which was not a good idea, not that Vergil would _know_ that. But Dante knew and if that slap was anything to go by it wasn’t going to be pretty.

“- I win against you, agreed.” 

“Please don’t kill our child, besides that, I’m outta this one.”

She watched the fight, she could tell Vergil wasn’t at his best right now and Neri could see it too and took advantage of it, forcing Vergil to his knees.

“You tore off our daughters’ arm and she still kicked your ass.”

“I can still fight.” Stubborn bastard.

“Stop! The Qlipoth is still a problem! Demons are still pouring in through the open portal and we need to stop it.”

She got up and made her way to the edge, Vergil not far behind her. “She’s right, we need to take care of it.”

“Wait where are you going?” 

“The roots have to be cut from the underworld and the portal sealed.”

Nerina looked between the two panic and pain plain as day on her face.”You won't be able to come back.”

“Probably but we have to go down there..”

“You can’t just leave us, mom!”

Dante paused, brushed her daughter’s bangs back. “It’s because you two are here I can leave. I’m trusting you to take care of things up here.”

She kissed her forehead, “I love you both and I am so proud of you both.” 

She couldn’t turn back to look at her daughter’s face instead she jumped off the tree and into the portal.

-line-

“Your hair has gotten longer.” 

Dante looked up from her spot on his chest, they had found shelter and decided to _rest_ , even if they hardly planned to sleep that night, it had taken many fights to finally get through their issues and he was glad they had.

Having a bare Dante in his arms was worth the fights, he had missed her, the feel of his mate against him, her soft skin, a pleasure better than ambrosia, her kiss sweeter than it as well.

“It hasn’t since we’ve been here.” She countered, just to do so he expected. 

“Since I saw you on Mallet Island,” He clarified, taking a stand to look at it more closely, it was dirty, most of the two were dirty, but it still felt like silk to the touch. He would love to see it the brilliant white of their younger days. 

“Yours hasn’t.” He could feel her hands in his hair, gentler than they had been earlier, she did like to pull on it when he was mating her, not that he was any better. 

“Why did you grow it back out?” It had been long in their youth, he could remember mother braid it, carefully working the tangles out of it as the two hummed songs together.

“I just stopped cutting it short once the kids got old enough to stop pulling it.” She shrugged, “I just went in to get everyone's hair cut and decided I missed it long.”

“I want to meet them, properly.”

What he could glean from Vincent's mind and his brief meeting with Nerina didn’t feel like enough, he wanted to try and be a family if that was possible.

“I think I could try but Nerina’s as stubborn as you so I make no promises.” 

She spoke the last words on to his lips, he met her halfway, a kiss sweet as wine. 

He faintly recalled the feeling of rain as they kissed, and knew this time he wouldn’t let her go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here at the end of this, I want to say thank you so much! This is one of the longest fics I've written and it's actually finished. So feel free to leave a Kudo or comment. I might come back to this verse soon and have more fun with it. 
> 
> Once again thank you so much to the readers, the Spardacest Discord users, and my dear friend who shall remain nameless.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this work is complete and I should be posting the rest or the chapters tonight.


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